Menu accueil pays

The US embassy has warned its citizens in Senegal of a "credible threat" of a terror attack in the capital Dakar, advising them to take special care when visiting places and areas popular with Westerners. The embassy also told its own staff members to stay away from seaside hotels in Dakar. A message, issued on Wednesday to US citizens in the country, warned them "to be vigilant when visiting establishments and staying at hotels frequented by Westerners due to a credible threat related to potential terrorist activity in Dakar". It went on to advise US nationals to "review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings," while banning embassy personnel from staying at the seaside hotels until the first...

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The #MeToo social media campaign to raise awareness about sexual harassment and abuse has sparked conversation in parts of Africa where domestic violence is rampant but strong cultural and religious taboos prevent women from admitting it. Prompted by sexual abuse allegations against American film mogul Harvey Weinstein, millions of women around the world have been sharing their experiences of harassment and abuse on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #MeToo. The movement has reached only a small part of the population in West Africa, but some women are participating in defiance of attitudes which dictate that being abused brings shame on the family, is a curse, or makes a woman unmarriageable. In Senegal, some women...

Rent-a-room giant Airbnb said Tuesday that it had provided accommodation for 1.2 million visitors to Africa over the last year -- double the previous year as tourism expands across the continent. The website now offers more than 100,000 accommodation options in Africa, global public affairs director Chris Lehane said on a visit to Johannesburg. "It's an incredibly rich and diverse continent, an incredibly dynamic place, certainly a big part of our future," Lehane told AFP. Airbnb was founded in 2008 and offers accommodation ranging from single bedrooms to whole homes in 65,000 cities in 191 countries. The company announced Tuesday that it would invest $1 million (850,000 euros) in Africa by 2020 to "promote and support community-led tourism projects". "For...

LOUGA, Senegal (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Watching as dozens of children don robes and belts for a karate class at a youth center in western Senegal, Aissatou and her peers are gearing up for a different kind of fight. Armed only with leaflets, posters and advice, these young volunteers are taking on a deeply entrenched taboo in the mainly Muslim nation: the use of contraception among girls and women. “Girls are scared of seeing relatives at a health center, or being judged by staff,” said Aissatou, one of 50 volunteers in the Louga region who advise young people about family planning and encourage them to seek health services at the youth center. “We offer a safe space to discuss sex,...

Though its motto is "one Africa, one voice", the reality of "Africa's parliament" could not be more different. Since its creation in 2004, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has struggled to make its voice heard, prompting its deputies to ask themselves at a recent gathering: "What are we for?" "Every time we're here, we obsess over the same things. If we are not making laws, then what's the point of being here?" Corneille Padonou of Benin said to his fellow parliamentarians. "This forum is not a parliament, it is just a discussion platform that does not have any legislative powers. This institution is still wobbly," said Floyd Shivambu, a parliamentarian from South Africa. "As it is, it is a waste of...

APA-Dakar (Senegal) - The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, will deliver the Norman Borlaug Lecture on Monday 16 October as part of the World Food Prize events taking place from October 16 to 20, 2017 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The Norman Borlaug Lecture under the title: “Betting on Africa to Feed the World”, will be held on World Food Day, October 16, in conjunction with the annual World Food Prize celebration. AfDB President Adesina will receive the 2017 World Food Prize on Thursday October 19, announced a press release issued by the AfDB on October 16, which also said “the prize is to agriculture what the Nobel Prize is to peace, science and literature.” The World...

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - West Africa is most at risk of fatal haemorrhagic fever epidemics, including Ebola, researchers said on Wednesday, calling for greater preparedness to save lives. A study in The Lancet medical journal assessed the likelihood of four viruses - Ebola, Lassa, Marburg and Crimean-Congo - spreading on the continent, charting progress from a first human case through to a potential pandemic. The world’s worst recorded Ebola outbreak ravaged Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2013 and 2016, killing about 11,300 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The viruses, which are often transmitted by rodents and bats, can cause fever, vomiting and bleeding, are often fatal. By mapping high risk areas, African nations can better...

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is set to accelerate to 3.4 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, citing Nigeria's recovering oil and agricultural sectors. The IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report that the region would grow by 2.6 percent this year after 1.4 percent in 2016. "Growth is expected to rise gradually," it said, while noting that the rate would be uneven and "barely above population growth". GDP in the west African powerhouse Nigeria contracted by 1.6 percent in 2016, but is predicted to grow by 0.8 percent this year and 1.9 percent next year. The IMF said Nigeria was benefitting from "recovering oil production and ongoing strength in the agricultural sector", but the...

APA-Dakar (Senegal) - Senegal’s trade deficit increased by 80.9 billion CFA (about $129.440 million) in August 2017 compared with the previous month, the Directorate of Forecasting and Economic Studies (DPEE) told APA Thursday. It went from 110.1 billion CFA in July 2017 to 191.1 billion CFA during the period under review. According to the DPEE, this reflects a 17.5 percent decline in exports of goods combined with a 25.5 percent increase in imports. Thus, the export-import ratio fell by 15.9 percentage points over the period to 30.5 percent in August 2017.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT.N) plans to spend $50 million over the next five years to add 100 hotels to its chain in Africa, it said on Thursday, joining other chains keen to tap growing business and international travel on the continent. One property will open in the Kenyan capital Nairobi by the end of this year and another in the Rwandan capital Kigali in 2018, it said in a statement. There was 11 percent growth in Sub-Saharan African tourism in the past year, according to data from the U.N. World Tourism Organisation. Hilton said the remaining additions to its 39 existing African properties would be operational within the next five years. “The model of converting existing...

APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - The African Union (AU) will on Thursday endorse reports and recommendations on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARWE) made by experts and senior officials in a meeting held on Monday and Tuesday. The endorsement will take place during the ministerial session of the AU’s Specialized Technical Committee on ARWE that opened on Thursday in Addis Ababa under the theme “Improve environmental sustainability and transform agriculture to ensure food and nutrition security.” These include policy papers and reports on agriculture, rural development, water and environment and recommendations and guidance on issues in the 2063 Africa Development Agenda, including agriculture, environment, climate change, and youth engagement. Among the points chosen for the discussions are the assessment of...

APA-Dakar (Senegal) - Senegal has opted to exclude the Baskent Egitim Association from managing Yavuz Selim schools in the country, and has placed the group under temporary administration, Education Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam said Monday evening in Dakar. “One solution would be for the Ministry of Education to provide for the provisional administration of these institutions. This must lead to a definitive solution that safeguards the teaching model, and the quality of education,” the minister was quoted as saying by the state-owned Le Soleil newspaper. Speaking after meeting with the Parents’ Association of Yavuz Selim, Thiam said all stakeholders would be involved in this interim solution, including parents as part of a partnership between the school’s new Senegalese administration, teachers...

The 2018 World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal will be replayed on either November 8 or November 9, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said on Friday. The FSF said FIFA had decided on the possible dates for the rearranged game, with the initial 2-1 South Africa victory on November 12, 2016 having been chalked off after the match was manipulated by referee Joseph Lamptey. The Ghanaian awarded South Africa a controversial penalty in the original Group D encounter. Lamptey has since been given a life ban by FIFA for match manipulation. Burkina Faso and Cape Verde both have six points after four matches in Group D, with Senegal on five and South Africa on one, but with this...

Government shutdowns of the internet have cost sub-Saharan Africa about $237 million since 2015, according to a study released Friday, as authorities increasingly implement planned disruptions. At least 12 countries have had internet shutdowns, often before elections or when protests erupt, with mobile internet networks most recently suspended in Togo during opposition demonstrations. "Internet disruptions, however short-lived, undermine economic growth, disrupt the delivery of critical services, erode business confidence, and raise a country’s risk profile," the CIPESA report said. The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) released its...

The Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), the main opposition party in Senegal led by former President Abdoulaye Wade, has called for the establishment of a “High Electoral Authority” to replace the current Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA). In a statement issued Tuesday evening following a meeting of the PDS Steering Committee, chaired by Wade in his capacity as National Secretary-General, supporters of the former head of state demanded the establishment of a “High Electoral Authority” whose neutrality will guarantee free and transparent elections in the country. To have such a structure to replace the CENA, in the eyes of the liberal party leaders, will be more appropriate than “replacing a leading member of the Alliance for the Republic (ruling ARP) with...

Studio 189, a label founded by actress Rosario Dawson and fashion executive Abrima Erwiah, is reinvesting in its African roots. It’s hard enough to build a fashion brand, let alone an empire. Rare is the person who makes a mission of using fashion to build communities. Such is the case with Studio 189, a label founded by longtime friends Abrima Erwiah (formerly a marketing executive at Bottega Veneta) and Rosario Dawson (an enduring star most recently seen in Netflix’s Marvel franchise). “The idea is to produce everything in local markets,” says Erwiah. “Particularly in Africa, particularly in Ghana.” The founders set up the company in partnership with the United Nations’ Ethical Fashion Initiative, which also works with such socially conscious...

Idrissa Diallo lost three children in Senegal's Joola ferry disaster, one of the worst in maritime history, but on the tragedy's 15th anniversary he has questions left unanswered. At an official ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday to remember the 1,863 people who died when the Joola ferry sunk off Senegal's Atlantic coast on September 26, 2002, Diallo vowed he would never let those killed "fade from memory". Senegal's justice system has failed to explain how so many lost their lives, the families of the victims believe, though a toxic mix of stormy weather and damaged engines are often blamed, along with massive overcrowding. "The victims' families are calling for the shipwreck to be hauled up so we will know what...

Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd said on Tuesday it won a contract worth $240 million to provide a wide array of defense electronic systems to an unnamed country in Africa. The contract, which will be carried out over a two-year period, is comprised of Directed Infra-red Counter Measure (DIRCM) systems to protect aircraft from shoulder fired missiles, based on passive infrared systems, and includes missile warning systems, radio and communication systems, land systems, mini-unmanned air systems and helicopters upgrade.

African first ladies and activists hailed progress that some governments on the continent are making on gender equality. They met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We used to have 23 percent female representation in parliament but, with the stroke of a pen it went up to 48 percent. So, we managed to double our female representation with that decision,” said Namibia’s first lady Monica Geingos at a roundtable invitation-only event co-hosted by the Global First Ladies Alliance (GFLA) and Facebook. Geingos credited the quota enacted by the ruling SWAPO party of her husband, President Hage Geingob. But she said a similar quota might be needed for Namibia’s private sector, where only 10 to...